It all depends on if those same writers are under more pressure now to make the comedy more 'accessible' - the worst thing I could imagine Community becoming, is a half-arsed Big Bang Theory replicant, and that looks like the way it's going. I'm beginning to think they should have just ended it at series 3. The finale was somewhat satisfying. It'll break my heart to see it limping to the barn when it originally it really was something else.

We also have to take into account that the reviewers are expecting the exact same show, which can skew their opinions and make them overly critical. They only have two episodes so the sample size isn't going to prove that the show is lost to us.

I'm getting the feeling that we won't get any amazing episodes, but we might get some solid ones. I'd agree on having it end at season 3 and maybe be picked up by Netflix or something with Dan still attached. Oh well though.

Also, if we take into account that the show, with Dan himself, changed so much from season 1 to season 3. In my opinion all of them are great for different reasons, but when you watch them over, you see noticeable changes in the way episodes feel. We'll see.

I'm really excited and I am holding them to a possibly unfair standard of what I want to see, but a part of me is grounded in the fact that there have been missteps before because this is a show that tries. If it doesn't start soaring, I won't get out my pitchfork.

Agreed. Personally, I miss the first season. Normal episodes that rely on jokes within the dialogue with sprinkling of the ridiculous ones is a perfect balance for me. We'll probably be disappointed tonight, but even if we are, it shouldn't be a surprise and it also shouldn't be the deciding factor on our continued support of the series.

I had written a rather lengthy response but some unfortunate button pushing wiped it. The gist was: the investment in story arcs is probably the best thing for committed fans because it ensures that even if an episode doesn't fare well in the joke department, it moves the story along and gives something towards character development.

I also agreed with you about the nostalgia for the first season. It is why most of us fell in love in the first place. It sometimes comes from an episode that misses for trying too hard with gags and the air-tight dialogue in the first episodes is great. But I wouldn't trade episodes like Virtual Systems Analysis, Advanced D&D or Paradigms.

Damn straight. Those concept episodes are the greatest things I've seen on my television. This show will always be my favorite comedy, I'll just miss being able to say it is better than Modern Family etc, if the quality drops. Fingers crossed.

Well, I think I should get back to work and stop obsessing with what will happen tonight. Honestly, I'm happy it's back. It's probably the only show where I see my wife geek out about (as I do)... and damn it, that's something beautiful.

That was the great part about community. It was "community" because you never knew what to expect.
I think this new season is gonna be exactly like community, which is why it's going to suck. Because community was never predictable, it was the exact opposite of what you thought you were gonna get from it. Thats why it used to be great.

Honestly, I thought the season 3 ending wrapped it up as well as it could have done with them not knowing the future of the show. If they're going to half-arse this season (which it sounds like they may have done - reserving judgement until I've seen enough episodes) then I'd rather they had just left it as the wonderful thing it was.

Yeah, that's exactly how I felt after the end of Season 3, and once Dan was fired I just kind of figured that everyone else would agree with me that it was better for the show to die while it was good than to try to continue it on as some sort of frankenshow for another "3 seasons and a movie." I'd much rather, in 20 years time, look back and say "remember that show that only got 3 seasons, but they were all completely amazing" than look back and say "remember that show that started good and then went to shit halfway through" (which sounds like every other show... ever).